Hollow
by CrazyFool65
Summary: Naruto did not take the truth about the Kyuubi so well. After learning the truth he felt so much pain, so much bitterness but eventually the pain began to disappear and with every tear shed he began to feel nothing. Until he felt…hollow. Naruto x Fem Kyuubi
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is a collaboration between KaiserNight and myself.**

**Naruto and his class are older than in the manga/anime, they are around 14-15.**

**Pairing: Naruto x Fem Kyuubi **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other Anime references that may appear**

* * *

**Prologue **

"Damn it! Why is it always clones? I just can't get it down!" Naruto screamed in frustration glaring at the scroll in front of him.

After failing his genin exams, Mizuki came to him to him offering another chance. If he could sneak into the Hokage's tower, take the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing and learn at least one jutsu from its context, then he would be able to become a registered genin.

There was only one problem. The first jutsu was Shadow Clone Technique. From what he could understand, it was an even more complex version of the Clone Techniquewhich was his worst had been practicing for a while but he wasn't making much progress. Standing back up, he was about to make another attempt when he heard someone land behind him. Looking over his shoulder, his eyes widened a bit when he saw Iruka looking at him. Disappointment could be clearly seen on his face.

"Here you are Naruto." The scarred chunin said.

"Oh, hey Iruka-sensei. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked casually causing a tick mark to form on the older man's head.

"What am I doing here? I'm here because you just cause some serious problems!" Iruka shouted.

"How am I causing problems? I've been here working on my make-up exam." Naruto said with a confused look causing Iruka to blink as he registered his words.

"Make-up exams?" Iruka repeated as Naruto nodded in confirmation.

"Yea, since I failed earlier today Mizuki-sensei told me about a make-up exam. All I have to do is find this secret scroll and learn at least one jutsu from it and I would pass and become a genin." He answered shocking Iruka.

'_Mizuki told him this? But why? Why would he…' _Iruka thought before he heard something from behind. Before he could open his mouths Naruto spoke first.

"Iruka-sensei, look out!" the blonde shouted pushing Iruka away before jumping back as a bunch of kunai embedded themselves into the ground where they were previously standing.

Iruka looked at Naruto surprised but Naruto wasn't paying attention. Instead the blonde was staring at the kunai in confusion.

'_How did I do that? One minute I'm talking to Iruka-sensei and the next minute I see us getting attack by a bunch of kunai. What happened?' _Naruto thought trying to figure how he did that.

"So you were able to dodge huh?" they heard a voice from above say. Turning towards its direction they saw Mizuki perched on a tree branch with a smug expression.

"Mizuki-sensei? What's going on? Why did you attack us?" Naruto asked but Mizuki ignored his questions.

"Hand over the scroll Naruto." He ordered.

"What the hell! I'm just doing what you told me and now you attack me?!" Naruto asked angrily.

"Don't listen to him Naruto. Protect that scroll. It holds all of Konoha's forbidden jutsu. Mizuki tricked you into stealing it because he wants it for himself." Iruka explained glaring at the man he once called a friend.

"What?" Naruto said shocked. Mizuki used him? Clenching his fist he glared at him anger evident in his eyes.

"How about a deal?" he asked catching them off guard.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would I make a deal with a traitor?" Naruto shouted but Mizuki just smirked.

"Tell me Naruto…aren't you just the least bit curious on why the village hates you?" Mizuki asked causing them to widen their eyes.

"No! Don't do it Mizuki!" Iruka shouted but was silenced as he coughed up blood. Looking down he saw his body stabbed by multiple kunai.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted in concern seeing his sensei fall to the ground coughing up blood before the scarred chunin passed out.

"N-Naruto…r-run…" Iruka struggled to say.

"Don't listen to him Naruto. After all, I still have some information for you." Mizuki said as he jumped from the tree and landed a few feet away from Naruto.

"Bastard! Why did you attack Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted but Mizuki paid no attention to it.

"Like I said earlier. Don't you want to know why the villagers hate you?" Mizuki asked. Despite the situation Naruto couldn't help but feel curious. He always wanted to know what he did to earn the disdain of Konoha.

"Why?" Naruto couldn't help but ask quietly. Hearing this Mizuki allowed a cruel smirk to grace his face before answering.

"It involves the Kyuubi no Yoko. You've heard of it right? Fifteen years ago, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha but the Yondaime was able to defeat it." Mizuki said causing Naruto to frown in confusion.

"What does that have to do with anything? I already know about that. The Yondaime fought the Kyuubi and was able to kill it." Naruto said causing Mizuki to laugh. "What's so funny?!"

"The truth is, the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi." Mizuki said with a sinister grin.

"What are you talking about? Back at the academy we learned about how the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi." Naruto said confused.

"I suppose you wouldn't know since the Sandaime passed a law that the older generation had to follow." Mizuki mused although on the inside he was laughing insanely. He couldn't wait to see Naruto's reaction when he learned the truth.

"Law? What law are you talking about?" Naruto asked trying to think about what Mizuki was talking about.

"The law saying that you are the Kyuubi." Mizuki answered causing Naruto to fall silent as he digested this.

"What?" he asked finally breaking the silence.

"Instead of killing the demon like the books said the Yondaime sealed the beast in you! Once that happened, whatever chance that baby had at being human was destroyed! Instead there's only you! An evil demon pretending to be what it's not!" Mizuki shouted.

"You're lying." Naruto whispered in disbelief trying to ignore the ache he felt in his heart.

"It makes sense now doesn't it? All the looks of disgust, the hateful comments, the fact that no one will give you the time of day. It's all because you are the Kyuubi! You're the demon who took so much from this village! You caused us so much grief and sorrow!" Mizuki shouted glaring down at Naruto.

"Shut up." Naruto growled glaring at the ground trying to reign in his emotions.

"How does it feel now that you know the truth demon?! How does it feel knowing about all the sins you have committed?!" Mizuki shouted with a crazed look in his eyes.

"I am not the Kyuubi. I am Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said defiantly looking Mizuki straight in the eye, his once blue eyes that used to be filled with so much mirth and playfulness were now cold and emotionless. Mizuki was a bit taken back by this. He expected the blonde to lose it and get pushed over the edge but it looked like that wasn't the case.

"You're tricks won't work on me you demon! It's about time that someone finally ends your accursed life!" Mizuki roared as he threw a large shuriken at Naruto. Narrowing his eyes Naruto ducked down to avoid the shuriken as it flew right about his head.

Mizuki cursed when he saw Naruto dodge his attack but raised an eyebrow when he saw the blonde raise his arm so it was aimed right at him. The chunin had no idea what he had planned. He remembered that Naruto had basically no skill in the shinobi arts, so what was he doing? Before he could even blink, a silver chain shot out of Naruto's hand and wrapped itself around Mizuki's neck.

"W-what…t-the…" Mizuki struggled out as the chains hold tightened.

"I already told you…I'm not the Kyuubi." Naruto repeated.

"Wh-What…is…th-this…chain…" Mizuki choked out his face starting to turn blue do to the lack of oxygen.

"The chain? I guess you can say it's a secret jutsu. As far as I know, I'm the only one who can use them." Naruto answered.

"H-How…" Mizuki said his vision starting to blur.

Naruto was silent as he remembered the day he first discovered this ability.

_Flashback_

_A ten year old Naruto was running for dear life. Why because it was October 10__th__, his birthday. But unlike any other child who spends their birthday with their loved ones, Naruto spends his birthdays alone hiding so that the villagers can't find him. Unfortunately that didn't go as planned as a few villagers spotted him. So here he was now trying to escape from their wrath._

'_Why is this happening? What did I ever do to them?' a distraught Naruto thought as he ran for dear life._

"_There he is!" one of the civilians shouted._

"_Looks like the little demon is trying to run away!" another added._

"_I don't know why the Sandaime continues to let that abomination live but I think it's about time to get rid of the little beast." Another member of the crowd suggested getting a roar of approval from the rest._

'_Jiji, I don't know where you are right now but please help me!' Naruto thought desperately as he cut through an alley way hoping to escape his pursuers but it looked like luck wasn't on his side since he reached a dead end._

"_Oh no." the young blonde said turning around but froze when he saw the group blocking the only way out. _

"_Nowhere to run demon." A man said smirking at the frightened Naruto._

"_P-Please, just leave me alone!" Naruto screamed as he took a step back from the crowd._

"_You want us to show you mercy? Where was our mercy when you attacked our village ten years ago?!" one of the crowd members spat._

"_I don't know what you mean by that!" Naruto shouted. He always heard these people saying about how he attacked the village and killed so many people but he was just a little kid. How could he do that and more importantly, wouldn't he remember if he did something like that?_

"_Enough words demon! It's time to finish what the Yondaime started!" a crowd member shouted as they staled towards the blonde who closed his eyes waiting for it to begin._

_It was at that moment that something odd happened. He felt a strange power surge through his body before he felt something shoot out of his body. Actually he felt multiple things shoot out of his body. Opening his eyes he stared in disbelief as he saw chains wrapped around each crowd member's neck. He followed the chains to see that they were coming from him._

"_This must be some kind of weird jutsu." Naruto muttered as he tugged on one of the chains that came from his chest. He looked at the small mob in front of him and saw them pass out from lack of oxygen and he began to panic._

"_Oh no what do I do? I wanted to stop them not kill them!" Naruto said eyes wide with panic. He didn't want to kill anybody. There was no need in giving the villagers any more reasons to hate him._

"_This is bad how do I make these chains go away?" Naruto asked himself but blinked when he saw the chains release their hold on the victims before retracting back into Naruto. Naruto just stood there trying to figure out what just happened._

"_That was weird…" the young blonde said before running away._

_End of Flashback_

Ever since that day, Naruto practiced on how to call out those chains. For the past five years, he trained in secret learning how to use these chakra chains in battle.

"How am I able to do this? You don't need to know. All that matters is that you just lost." Naruto said looking back at Mizuki before pulling on the chain forcing Mizuki to come flying towards him. Cocking his fist back, Naruto punched Mizuki hard in the jaw, sending the chunin flying until he couldn't go any further due to the chain. When this happened, Naruto pulled again forcing Mizuki to come back to him where he nailed another punch, only to repeat the process until the chunin lost consciousness. Calling the chain back, Naruto sighed as he ran his hand through his head in frustration as he recalled Mizuki's words.

The Kyuubi. The force of destruction that almost wiped out Konoha…and it was sealed inside him. So many thoughts ran through his mind. Why him? Why was he chosen to have the beast sealed into him? Why didn't anyone tell him? The Sandaime Hokage, a man he considered a grandfather, had to have known about this. So why did the old man lie whenever he asked about his treatment from the villagers.

"Naruto?" a hoarse voice asked breaking Naruto from his thought. Turning around he saw Iruka standing up looking at him in concern.

"What happened?" he asked noticing Mizuki's prone form. Naruto spared the man a glance before showing Iruka a fake grin.

"Oh nothing really. The bastard was saying some crazy lie about me being the Kyuubi, but we all know the Kyuubi was killed by the Yondaime. While he was running his mouth, I snuck up on him and kicked his ass." Naruto answered, but he noticed how nervous Iruka looked when he mentioned the Kyuubi.

"He said you were the Kyuubi?" Iruka asked carefully.

'_So he knew the truth too?' _Naruto thought but just put on a confused face.

"Yeah, but he was lying right? I mean there's no way I'm the Kyuubi right?" Naruto asked naively.

'_Too bad this village is just too blind in the hate and ignorance to see the truth.' _Naruto bitterly added in his mind.

"Yea, you're right. What a silly idea." Iruka said with a nervous chuckle as the two fell in an uncomfortable silence. It was during this silence that Naruto went back to thinking.

'_Kyuubi brat.'_

'_No good demon.'_

'_Go away you abomination.'_

'_Look at that awful monster.'_

'_Stay away from that thing kids.'_

Naruto's fist clenched tighter and tighter as he remembered all the hateful words people threw at them. Who knew that in one knight your whole world could change? He remembered that it was earlier today that he wanted to be a Konoha shinobi and defend the lives of those he cared for. To become the Hokage and earn the respect and acceptance he always craved for.

But now. Now was different. He had no idea how to feel. People thought he was a demon. How could they be so blind? There was no way he was a demon. Didn't the villagers know that if he really was a demon he would have snapped a long time ago and kill them all? Apparently not.

"Hey Naruto, I've been thinking. You were able to beat Mizuki which is a pretty impressive feat for." Iruka said talking off his forehead protector wrapping it around Naruto's head.

"I think that is proof enough to show you are more than qualified to be a genin." Iruka finished looking at Naruto with a proud smile.

As Iruka tied his forehead protector around Naruto's head, tears began to leak out of the blonde's eyes as the adrenaline finally wore off. Seeing this Iruka smiled softly mistaking them for tears of joy.

The truth was they were tears of pain, tears of sorrow, and tears of realization. After years of not knowing he finally understood. He finally knew why he was so hated. The truth filled him with unbelievable pain. They thought he was an actual demon. But now that he thought about it, it made so much sense. But eventually the pain began to disappear with every tear shed until he felt nothing. Until he felt…hollow.

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**End of Prologue **

**Little heads up. Naruto is not going to be evil or plot on how to destroy Konoha. He simply doesn't care about Konoha anymore.**

**Also Naruto will hear the Kyuubi speak every now and then but he will not actually meet her until much later.**

**Naruto skills so far:**

**Chakra Chains**

**Haki: is unaware what it is but he can subconsciously use it. **

**Shadow Clones: he knows what to do to perform the jutsu but he was interrupted before he could master it. The reason for this is because KaiserNight and I wanted him to develop skills other then Shadow Clones**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other Anime reference that are mentioned in this story**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Walking through the streets of Konoha, Uzumaki was in deep thought. After the incident with Mizuki, he was brought to the Hokage's office to explain what happened. Let's just say he wasn't too happy with the old man right now.

_Flashback_

"_Naruto-kun, it's good to see you." The Hokage said with a warm smile which Naruto returned, though his was fake. _

"_Hey jiji, how's it going?" he asked taking his seat in front of the old man's desk._

"_I just wanted to talk with you about what happened." He said causing Naruto to nod._

"_Alright then, what do you want to know?" Naruto asked his fake smile still in place. This was it he decided. If the old man told him the truth then maybe he could still trust him but if he lied, then that was it. _

"_I would like to hear about the Mizuki incident from your point of view." Hiruzen said._

"_Well I failed the test since I couldn't make a stupid clone. After that Mizuki told me about a secret test and if I passed I could still become a genin. He told me to take a scroll from the vault and learn at least one jutsu. I started to practice when Iruka came. He asked me what I was doing so I explained the test when Mizuki came and attacked us. He was able to take down Iruka before he walked over to me. He underestimated me so I was able to kick him in the nuts. He was stunned for a bit so I made my next move and punched him in the face until he passed out." Naruto said lying. He decided if the old man was keeping secrets then he would keep his chakra chains a secret as well._

"_I see, well I must say you have the making of a fine shinobi. Using your opponent's overconfidence against him, well done." Hiruzen praised._

"_Thanks jiji, but he also said something else. Something strange." Naruto added causing the Hokage to frown,_

"_Like what?"_

"_He said the villagers hating me had something to do with the Kyuubi, but I thought that the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi 15 years ago." Naruto said plastering a confused look on his face. The Hokage was silent as if debating with himself on what he should say before sighing._

"_Think nothing of it Naruto-kun, he was probably just trying to distract you." The Hokage said. So that was it. He wasn't going to tell him the truth._

'_So you're going to continue to lie to me?' Naruto thought._

"_That is all I needed to know. You are free to go Naruto-kun." HIruzen said as Naruto stood from his seat._

"_Of course, glad I could help…Hokage-sama." Naruto said closing the door behind him never seeing the confused frown on Hiruzen's face from being addressed so formally from the blonde._

_End of Flashback_

"I still can't believe it. All this time he was lying to me. Who knows what else he's lied about? Maybe he really does know who my parents are but just never told me." Naruto mused to himself. Naruto pushed away any thought of the man he once saw as a grandfather and instead looked straight ahead. He could see the looks of hatred and disgust.

Normally Naruto would just shrug it off and smile widely but after yesterday he just didn't care anymore. He no longer cared for their acceptance or their acknowledgement. The villagers seemed a bit surprised when he shot them an emotionless look as if anything else would be too much of a hassle and to him it was. Putting up a mask just wasn't worth it anymore.

'_To think I wanted to be Hokage, to protect these people.' _Naruto thought sarcastically looking down at the forehead protector wrapped around his neck. The cloth it was attached to was longer than usual so it could act more like a scarf then a headband. He still wore the orange shinobi pants that came with his jumpsuit but tossed the jacket away in favor for a long sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a red spiral on the back. His usual goggles and black fingerless gloves completed his look.

Finally arriving at his destination, he walked into the class without uttering a single word, but it didn't seem to matter. Even silent he seemed to have attracted everyone's attention. The seemed shocked that the dead last passed.

"Hey Naruto! What are you doing here? Don't you know that only the people who passed are supposed to be here today?" Inuzuka Kiba asked with a smirk waiting for the blonde to throw a fit like he would usually do. So imagine his surprise when the blonde remained silent, the only indication that he heard the Inuzuka was that he shifted his gaze at the brown haired boy, his cold blue eyes unsettling him a little.

Naruto merely answered the question by tapping the forehead protector he wore as a scarf before scanning the room. Settling his gaze on the closest free spot, he sat down crossed his arms and closed his eyes waiting for the teams to be announced. Everyone in the classroom was a bit unsettled by the silent blonde; eventually they returned to their conversations but would throw a curious glance at the blonde every now and then.

'_What the hell was that? His eyes, they were so…' _Kiba thought not able to describe what he saw when he looked into the cold eyes of Naruto.

'_It would appear that something has happened to Uzumaki-san to make him act in such an uncharacteristic way.' _Aburame Shino logically thought.

'_Troublesome…I have a feeling this new attitude of his is going to give me a lot of future headaches.' _a tired Nara Shikamaru thought.

'_Wonder what happened to Naruto?' _Akamichi Choji thought munching on his chips.

'_N-Naruto-kun…a-are you a-alright?' _Hyuga Hinata thought fiddling with her fingers as she threw her crush a few shy glances before looking away.

Uchiha Sasuke didn't bother to think about Naruto but he did throw him a single glance before returning to his own thoughts. However everyone's thoughts were interrupted when the door was opened with such force it was practically torn from its hinges.

"Ha I win! I get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" Haruno Sakura shouted with a victorious look.

"In your dreams forehead girl! I totally won!" Yamanaka Ino shouted in protest earning a glare from the pink haired girl.

"Keep telling yourself that Ino-pig!" Sakura shot back as the two entered a glaring contest, their eyes shooting lightning at each other.

This was the scene that Iruka walked into. Sighing in annoyance he took a deep breath.

"**EVERYONE SHUT UP AND TAKE YOUR SEATS!**" he shouted causing all the students to quickly take their seats gulping. As Iruka began his congratulation speech to the passing students Naruto zoned out thinking about his future.

What kind of sensei would he get? Would they treat him fairly or would they see him as the Kyuubi and ignore his very existence. Who knows? Maybe they would use their first mission out of the village and try to kill him saying he died from an enemy shinobi.

What about teammates? There wasn't anyone in this class that he trusted. No, now he was wary about almost every person in this village. No one in this class knew anything about him thinking he was a useless idiot. He had no idea if he could trust any of his classmates, and if he can't trust his teammate then it would only be a matter of time for the team to fall. Sighing in displeasure, Naruto wondered when and why his life became so complicated.

"Team 7 consists of Uzumaki Naruto…" Iruka said catching Naruto's attention. Looks like teams were being chosen during his thoughts.

"Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke." The scarred instructor finished causing a few reactions. Sakura gave a victorious shout while the rest of the girls looked depressed, Sasuke said nothing but you could see his eyes twitch when Sakura shouted and Naruto…

"You have got to be kidding me. Out of all the people in this class I get stuck with those two?" Naruto groaned banging his head against the desk causing the class to blink in confusion. It was common knowledge that Naruto had a huge crush on Sakura, they would have thought being on her team would cause him to jump and cheer for joy.

"Sorry Naruto, but you have the worst grades in class. To balance the teams out, we pair the student with the lowest grades with the one with the highest grade which in this case would be Sasuke." Iruka explained but inwardly he was just as confused as the rest of his class.

"If that's the case is it too late to hand this back and quit being a shinobi?" Naruto asked pointing at his forehead protector shocking everyone in the class. What happened to the boy who shouted how he would become Hokage.

"Y-Yes it is too late." Iruka said wide eyed wondering what was going on.

"Fine." Naruto mumbled slumping back to his seat in defeat. The class was silent as they stared at Naruto with unmasked surprise before Iruka cleared his throat and began listing of the rest of the teams.

* * *

**Hokage Tower**

At the time the Hokage and jounin were watching the class thought his crystal brown and their faces showed confusion as they watched what transpired.

'_Naruto-kun…what happened to you?' _the elderly man thought worriedly.

"Well now…this is something I wasn't expecting." Hatake Kakashi, a sliver haired man with a mask covering the lower half of his face, stated.

"Yes, from the notes the teachers have on his he should be a ball of energy. Are you sure this is the same Naruto who pulled all those pranks?" Yuuhi Kurenai, a woman with long black hair and red eyes, asked.

"That's him alright. Blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker marks. As for this new attitude…well your guess is as good as mine." Sarutobi Asuma said taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Yes…this is a bit of a shocker and I must say I am a little concerned about this new change. I think it would be best to keep a close eye on him." Hiruzen said feeling bad about spying on the blonde but he had to make sure he was alright.

* * *

**Academy Classroom**

Naruto was sitting in his seat. While he looked calm and relaxed on the inside he was losing his patience. Not only was his team's sensei the only one who hasn't shown up yet, but he has been waiting for 2 hours. To make matters worse, he had to sit there and listen to Sakura as she talked excitedly to Sasuke about how lucky they were that they were on the same team, but Sasuke paid no attention to her.

Deciding to use his time productively, Naruto studied his teammates to see if there was any way they would be able to work together. First he looked at his pink haired teammate Sakura and he mentally slapped himself. What did he ever see in her? Sure she was smart, it was safe to say she was the smartest one in their class but other than that there was nothing really special about her. As for her personality…again what did he ever see in her. When he was infatuated with her he would constantly ask for a date but she would turn it down immediately followed with a fist to the head. It never mattered what it was whether it was to ask her out on a date or to just try and start a civil conversation it always ended the same way.

He glanced at his other teammate, Uchiha Sasuke. At first he felt sympathy for the black haired teen. I mean it's hard not to when his entire clan was slaughtered in one night by a single person. But once he saw Sasuke's attitude after the event, the sympathy he felt was soon replace with disgust. The village acknowledged him and practically worshipped the ground he walked on, but instead of showing gratitude Sasuke let it go to his head until he became so arrogant he believed all he has to do is say his name and his enemies will surrender.

The chances of them making a successful team? Not so good. With Sasuke believing he could do anything himself and Sakura who was so obsessed with him, she would do anything he said pretty much guaranteed. This team would probably fail since Sasuke would refuse the advice of anyone and Sakura would agree with him in a second.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door knob turning. Turning towards the door he saw a man with spiky silver hair, a face mask covering his face from the nose down, his forehead protector work sideways so it was covering his left eye and despite the fact that more than half his face was covered he could still see a lazy look on his face.

"Hm…so you're my team huh? As far as first impressions go…I have to say you're pretty boring." The man commented causing Sakura and Sasuke to glare at him while Naruto raised a brow. Boring huh? Not the worst he's ever been called.

"Meet me on the roof top." He added before vanishing in a swirl of leaves. The three genin just sat there wondering what happened until Naruto stood up and quietly walked out the room. The remaining two blinked before following the blonde's example and exited the room heading for the roof. Once on the roof, they saw their sensei leaning against the railing of the room. Seeing them he motioned for them to take a seat in front of him. Once seated, he began to speak.

"Alright then, to start things off let's introduce ourselves and tell the rest a little bit about us." Their sensei said.

"What exactly do you want us to say?" Sakura asked causing the man to gain a thoughtful expression before answering.

"Oh just some basic info. You know, things like your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams." He clarified.

"Why don't you go first? After all you're a complete mystery to us." Sakura pointed out.

"Me? Alright then, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are not important. As for hobbies…I have a lot of them and my dream for the future is none of your business." Kakashi said with an eye smile causing the genin to sweat drop.

'_Awesome, all we learned was his name.' _Naruto thought dryly.

"You're up pinky." Kakashi said pointing at Sakura who gained a tic mark at the nickname before speaking.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. What I like…" she trailed of sneaking a glance at Sasuke as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"My hobbies…" she trailed off again as she stared at Sasuke again her blush increasing.

"My dream for the future is…" she fell silent staring at Sasuke with a dream like expression before squealing causing Kakashi to sweat drop.

"What about dislikes?" he asked hoping to get this over with.

"Ino-pig and Naruto." She said harshly. Kakashi glanced at Naruto to see his reaction, but to his surprise he looked completely unfazed. In fact, the only indication that he heard her was the annoyed eye roll he did.

"Well now that was…informative." He said trying to find a good word before pointing at Sasuke. "You're up next Mr. Dark and Broody."

"Hn. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I dislike considering there is almost noting I do like. My hobbies are training and as for as dreams go, I have none because my goal is no dream…it will become reality. I will restore my clan and hunt a certain someone down and kill him." He finished his voice taking a dark tone.

'_Wow…he's so cool' _Sakura thought dreamily.

'_Obsessed with revenge huh? Guess I should have expected that.' _Kakashi thought with a sigh.

'_Probably the guy who killed his clan.' _Naruto guessed uninterestedly.

"Now last but not least we have you goggles." Kakashi said pointing at Naruto.

"The names Uzumaki Naruto, My likes are ramen and Konoha." He started but frowned when he said Konoha. Something that Kakashi picked up on. "Well not Konoha per say, more like the ideals of Konoha. You know like the Will of Fire and stuff." He clarified causing the others to raise their eyebrow at him, but he ignored it.

"What I dislike are people who think their actions are justified by their arrogance and blind hatred." He said with so much venom that the two genin flinched and looked at him in shock wondering if this was the same blonde classmate they had. Kakashi on the other hand looked at the boy sadly understanding what he meant.

"Hobbies are training and I used to do some pranks and my dream…I'm not too sure." Naruto finished causing the others to blink in confusion.

"What do you mean you're not too sure? You always bragged about how you're going to be Hokage." Sakura said looking at Naruto incredulously.

"That was then this is now." Was the simple reply that came from Naruto.

Kakashi was silent as he studied the blonde carefully. He was nothing like the reports said he was. The Hokage was right they would have to keep a close eye on this one.

'_So I have a fan girl, an avenger, and a wildcard. What have you gotten yourself into Kakashi?' _the masked jounin asked himself before straightening up.

"Well now that the introductions are out of the way we can begin your graduation test." Kakashi stated catching them off guard.

"What do you mean by that? We already passed our exams." Naruto said confused causing Kakashi to chuckle.

"If it was that easy to become a shinobi then everybody would be one right now. No, the academy only trims the numbers down and then we have the real test to see if you're cut out to be a shinobi. If you fail then you get sent right back to the academy." Kakashi explained causing the genin to fall silent as they digested what he said.

"I want you to be at the designated place at the designated time tomorrow morning for your real test." Kakashi said handing them a slip of paper with the information before leaving. He suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Oh and if I were you I would skip breakfast. You'll just puke it out." He advised before continuing his way.

Later that night Naruto was laying on his bed thinking about his test the next morning. He knew that Kakashi would be a much more difficult opponent compared to Mizuki. Also with his chakra chains, he only had one real shot or he would lose the element of surprise. Once Kakashi learned about them, he would be on guard and Naruto knew that once he kept an eye out for his chains then it would be almost impossible for him to land a hit. Getting up, he reached under his bed and pulled out a small box with the words _Prank Kit _inscribed on it.

"If I want to be a shinobi, I'll have to pull out all the stops." He said with a smirk as he began rummaging through his kit deciding what to bring. He knew one thing for sure. Tomorrow would definitely be a challenge.

* * *

**Next Morning**

Naruto walked towards the designated spot and saw that Sasuke and Sakura were already there. He also heard the sound of their stomachs growling causing him to chuckle. Unlike them, he chose not to skip breakfast, no way was he skipping a meal. He needed all the energy he could get.

"Sensei's not here yet?" Naruto asked leaning against one of the wooden posts. Just because he didn't like them didn't mean he couldn't try and be civil. Who knows, maybe they could be a successful team.

"Hn. Dobe do you see him here?" Sasuke asked condescendingly.

"Yea Naruto-baka! Don't ask such stupid questions!" Sakura screeched causing Naruto to wince.

Well so much for being civil. Shaking his head Naruto closed his eyes waiting for Kakashi to arrive.

"Good morning students." Kakashi said waving at them cheerfully as he arrived…3 hours late.

"You're late!" Sakura shouted as the two male genin remained silent but they sent their sensei annoyed glances, but Kakashi ignored them as he placed an alarm clock onto the ground.

"This alarm is set to go off at noon. You have until then to take these bells from me." Kakashi stated as he took out two small silver bells and showed them to the genin.

"Anyone who is unable to get a bell will get tied up to one of the stumps there while I eat your lunch in front of you." Kakashi continued as if on cue Sasuke and Sakura clutched their stomachs as he growled in hunger but Kakashi noticed Naruto seemed fine.

"Well it seems that Sakura and Sasuke took my advice about not eating, what about you Naruto?" Kakashi asked. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders.

"Yesterday you said 'If I were you I wouldn't eat any breakfast' but you aren't me so I ate anyway. Besides I don't know about you but, I don't work well on an empty stomach." He explained causing his teammates to glare and Kakashi to chuckle.

"Good thinking. Just because someone gives you advise doesn't mean you have to listen. Just do what you feel is right." Kakashi praised looking at Naruto as the hungry genin grumbled.

"Wait a minute sensei. You said we have to get a bell to pass but there are only two bells and three of us." Sakura pointed out.

"It looks like someone is perceptive. You are right, there are only two bells. This means, no matter what, one of you isn't getting a bell. Whoever that one is…is getting sent right back to the academy." Kakashi said causing the genin to swallow nervously.

"You can use shuriken, kunai or any other tools during this test. Take this seriously as if I were an enemy shinobi. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you will have no hope of passing this test." Kakashi said looking at his students seriously.

"Hn, are you sure about that sensei? I wouldn't want to get in trouble for killing a Konoha shinobi." Sasuke said with his signature smirk.

"You know that old saying, a dog's bark is worse than its bite? I think that works really well here." Kakashi said in a dry tone causing Naruto to snort and the Uchiha to glare.

"Alright then. Are there any questions?" Kakashi asked. Seeing them shaking their heads he continued. "Okay the go."

And just like that the three genin scattered into the trees and bushes using them to hide from their sensei. Seeing this Kakashi hummed approvingly.

'_All three of them are well hidden.' _Kakashi thought as he causally walked around.

Naruto was jumping branch from branch looking for his team. As much as he hated to admit it, he would need the help if his teammates. After all, they were fresh out of the academy genin and they were up against a fully trained and experienced jounin. Their best bet was to work together as a team no matter how impossible it seemed. After a few minutes, he spotted Sasuke and jumped down next to him.

"Hey Sasuke, I don't like you and you don't like me but if we want to get a bell then our best chance is working together." Naruto quickly explained.

"Please, why would I want to work with a dobe like you?" Sasuke scoffed causing Naruto to groan in annoyance.

"Damn it teme. Even you can't be the pigheaded to think that you could take on a jounin by yourself. Think about it." Naruto continued. Sasuke was silent as he thought about it but shook his head.

"No, I'm an Uchiha elite. I can get a bell on my own." Sasuke stated before running off causing Naruto to sigh in frustration before heading off on his own way. What they didn't know was that Kakashi was hiding near them listening to their conversation.

'_Well it's clear that those two aren't very fond of each other, but at least Naruto is willing to put aside his differences for the better of the team. The same can't be said about Sasuke though.' _Kakashi observed.

Sakura was hiding in the bushes wondering where her sensei was when she heard someone land next to her. Looking at her side she saw it was Naruto.

"What are you doing here baka?" she asked in an unusually quiet voice so Kakashi wouldn't hear her.

"You think I suck as a shinob,i honestly I think you do too." Naruto started ignoring Sakura's indignant look. "But we're up against a jounin. You're smart; you must understand that going one on one against him is practically impossible. So what do you say, team up?"

"In your dreams baka!" came Sakura's immediate answer.

"Come on Sakura! Think! Do you honestly think you can snatch a bell by yourself?"

"Sasuke-kun and I will get the bells." Sakura said confidently causing Naruto to snort.

"_Please_, you honestly think that? You have a brain so use it!" Naruto said starting to get pissed. Why couldn't his stubborn teammates see his point?

"No means no baka. You just want us to help you because you know you can't do it alone. What a useless shinobi." Sakura mocked. Normally when she insulted the blonde, he would brush it off with a smile, so imagine her surprise when Naruto glared at her with so much anger the she cringed but in the blink of an eye the anger was gone and replaced with a pair of emotionless blue eyes.

"Very well Haruno, good luck because if you honestly think the Uchiha will help you then you'll really need it." Naruto said in an even tone before stalking off.

"W-What was that? Why hasn't he been calling me Sakura-chan like he used to?" Sakura asked to herself wondering what happened. She saw Naruto's attitude change the other day, but she thought it was an act to try and impress her but now…no, that wasn't important right now. What was important was finding Sasuke so the two of them could work together and get the bell.

From the tree above, Kakashi sighed after hearing the conversation like he did with Sasuke and shook his head in disappointment.

'_Another one who refuses to work as a team. Looks like Naruto is the only one who understands the value of teamwork.' _Kakashi thought before jumping down behind Sakura who hadn't heard him.

"I don't see sensei anywhere." He heard Sakura say.

"If you're looking for me then you might want to look behind you." Kakashi said offhandedly causing the pink haired girl to stiffen before turning her head slowly over her shoulder where she saw Kakashi standing behind her casually.

Before she could speak, he performed a few hand seals as leaves began to dance around them. The leaves began to pick up speed until Sakura was in the middle of a small leaf tornado. The wind suddenly stopped and the leaves fell to the ground but Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

"What was that? Where'd sensei go? What did he do?" Sakura said wondering what the hell happened as she looked around frantically.

"Sakura…" he heard a voice from behind causing her to blink before a large smile found its way on her face. She knew that voice anywhere.

"Sasuke…kun…" she started but the rest of her words died in her throat when she caught site of her crush.

Standing in front of her was Uchiha Sasuke. Only he was heavily covered in blood, sharp pointy objects stabbing into his body as he breathed heavily looking like he would pass out any second.

"S-Sakura…help…m-me…" he said his voice strained.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said in a dazed like voice as tears formed in the corner of her eyes. After releasing an ear shattering scream Sakura passed out; the sight of her precious Sasuke in such a state was too much for her to bear.

Casually leaning against a tree, Kakashi looked at the prone form of Sakura with a raised brow.

"Huh, maybe the genjutsu was too much for her." He mused before walking away. One down two to go.

Sasuke was running through the forest looking for Kakashi when he heard a loud scream. Coming to an abrupt stop, he frowned when he realized what happened.

"Looks like he got his first victim…and based on that scream it was Sakura." He stated.

"Pretty good. She fell for a simple genjutsu." The voice of Kakashi said from behind.

"Hn. She may have fallen for such a simple trick. but it won't work on me. I'm not like the rest them…I won't go down that easily." Sasuke said turning around his eyes landing on Kakashi who stood their looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Well today we've learned you can talk a big game. The only thing that remains to be seen is if you can back it up." Kakashi shot back.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke threw a handful of shuriken at Kakashi who jumped out of the way.

"That's your opening move? Such a simple frontal assault?" Kakashi chastised when he heard the distinct sound of a blade slicing. Looking over his shoulder, he saw one of Sasuke's shuriken cut a piece of rope.

'_A trap?' _Kakashi thought taking note of Sasuke's smug smirk. Suddenly a wave of knives flew through the air heading right for Kakashi. Seeing this, he was able to jump out of their path as they lodged themselves into a nearby tree.

He turned towards the genin only to see Sasuke standing right in front of him. Sasuke launched a kick, but Kakashi caught him by the ankle. Not letting that stop him, he threw a punch but once again Kakashi stopped it by using his free hand to grab his wrist.

"Looks like both your hands are occupied." Sasuke taunted as he twisted his body and aimed a kick at his head with his other leg. Seeing this, Kakashi shifted his arm to block the kick while still keeping his hold on Sasuke's wrist. Seeing this caused Sasuke to smirk as the bells were completely unguarded. Using his free hand, he quickly reached out to snatch one of them, but Kakashi saw this and released his hold on Sasuke before jumping back with the bell jingling as Sasuke was able to graze it.

"Pretty good." Kakashi complimented.

'_I won't lose.' _Sasuke thought as he began to perform some hand seals catching Kakashi off guard.

'_Those seals…a genin shouldn't have the necessary chakra or control to perform this jutsu.' _Kakashi thought as Sasuke took a deep breath.

"**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique**" he said firing a large fireball at Kakashi. He smirked thinking he got him, but when the flames and smoke disappeared there was no sign of Kakashi anywhere.

"He's gone…where'd he go?" he muttered to himself as he began to look in every direction. His eyes widened when he felt something grab his leg. He looked down just in time to see a hand sticking out of the ground pull him down until he was buried from the neck down.

"The fire jutsu was a bit of a surprise but you were too overconfident in your abilities." Kakashi said as he began walking away leaving a trapped and cursing Uchiha behind.

'_Well now that's two down and only one to go. According to his file, Naruto is the kind of person who will charge first and ask questions later, but so far he has stayed hidden. Well hidden, I can barely detect his presence and he's covered his trail fairly well.' _Kakashi thought as he looked for the blonde genin when suddenly shuriken from every direction came flying towards him.

'_Another trap huh?' _Kakashi thought as he pulled out two kunai to deflect the shuriken as he twisted and shifted his body to avoid the shuriken he couldn't block.

"Not bad, a trap that comes from every direction. It must have taken you some time to set this up. The fact that you did it without me noticing is also impressive." Kakashi praised as he leapt into the air causing Naruto, who charged at him from behind, to miss the bells.

When Kakashi landed on the ground and felt it shift, he quickly leapt into that air to see the ground he was previously standing on collapse revealing a large pit.

"And a pit fall trap, you're really giving me a workout." Kakashi said taking a step to the side in order to avoid the kunai thrown at him.

Cursing, Naruto charged with a punch but was blocked by Kakashi who proceeded to throw the blonde over his shoulder. Turning his body, he landed on his feet and jumped into the air, planning on hitting an axe kick while his hands reach into his pouch. Kakashi crossed his arms to block the kick, but his eyes widened when he saw what was in his hands, a small bottle of alcohol and a lighter. Naruto quickly took a mouthful of alcohol and lit the lighter before spitting the alcohol towards Kakashi creating a small flamethrower.

"Got ya." Naruto grinned when his flames hit Kakashi, but it turned into a frown when he vanished in a plume of smoke only for a charred log to take his place.

"I must say, this is my first time seeing a genin to something like that." Kakashi said from his new position.

"I can't do any fire jutsu so I used what I had. I call it Uzumaki Style: Improvised Fireball Technique." Naruto explained.

"Simple yet clever at the same time." Kakashi nodded in approval before he charged. Naruto quickly covered his eyes with his goggles and reached into his pockets before throwing something on the ground between the two of them causing Kakashi to come to a halt. He looked down to see multiple marbles between them.

"Marbles? Really?" Kakashi asked incredulously. He never heard of a ninja who used marbles before so imagine his surprise when a few of the marbles glowed before bursting into a blinding light.

'_What? He disguised flash bombs as marbles?!' _Kakashi thought as the blinding light forced him to close his eye. _'And because of those goggles he can still see.' _

And just like he thought, Naruto smirked as he once again charged at Kakashi reaching towards the bell. Hearing the footsteps, Kakashi jumped out of the way before throwing some shuriken where he thought Naruto would reach. Cursing, Naruto came to a sudden halt as the shuriken sunk into the ground right in front of him.

"The flash bombs surprised me Naruto, but remember a shinobi can use all their senses, not just their eyes." Kakashi said.

"I know that, which is why I thought of a backup plan." Naruto smirked before reaching into his pouch and threw the contents in the air. Then he dug his hands into his pockets before throwing something at Kakashi's feet.

Kakashi wondered what he meant when suddenly the sound of small explosions filled the air and a horrible stench reached his nose.

'_You have got to be kidding me, firecrackers and stink bombs too?' _Kakashi thought wondering what other unconventional things this genin used. He opened his eyes and while his vision was still a bit blurry, he was still able somewhat see the blonde although he looked like a multicolored blur in the green forest they were in.

"Now time for those bells!" Naruto shouted as he charged. Kakashi saw the blur that he identified as Naruto approaching him so he leapt into the air causing Naruto to curse.

"I really wanted to keep my chains a secret but I'm running out of time and he won't fall for my traps again." Naruto said to himself before slamming his open palms into the ground.

"**Forced Submission!**" he yelled as multiple chains shot from the ground below Kakashi and wrapped around his arms, legs and torso before pulling him back to the ground, where the chains kept him pinned. By the time Kakashi regain his sight, he saw the chains pulling him to the ground. Casually walking up to the trapped jounin, Naruto plucked the bells away and casually walked towards the starting point of the test.

"That's what you get for underestimating me Hatake-san." Naruto said over his shoulder as Kakashi tried to free himself cursing himself for underestimating this genin.

"These chains...they're not normal. No…it couldn't be. Chakra Chains?" Kakashi said to himself, his visible eyes widening in shock when he figured it out.

* * *

**Starting Point: End of Test**

"Well I have to saym other then Naruto…you all failed horribly." Kakashi said plainly causing the genin, other than Naruto, to gape at him disbelievingly.

"What do you mean other then Naruto? Are you trying to tell us that the baka over here was able to get a bell…and why the hell am I the one tied up to the stump!" Sakura screamed trying to break free from her confinements.

"Yes that's exactly what I'm telling you and the reason you're the one tied up is because you were the only one who didn't do a thing. All you did was stand there and faint after getting exposed to a simple genjutsu." Kakashi answered in a bored tone causing Sakura to fall silent.

"I find it hard to believe that the dobe was able to get a bell when I couldn't." Sasuke voiced out. Instead of answering, Naruto reached into his pockets and threw the silver bells on the ground surprising Sasuke and Sakura.

"How…" Sasuke started but Kakashi interrupted.

"You see, not only was he able to get the bells by himself, he was also able to figure out the true purpose of the test." The masked jounin stated.

"True purpose? I thought the purpose was to get a bell to avoid getting sent back to the academy." Sakura said confused, causing Kakashi to sigh. He had a feeling that he would be doing a lot of that in the future.

"No, think about. Why would we place you in a three man team?" Kakashi asked.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked causing Kakashi to shake his head in disappointment.

"Unbelievable, and this is the next generation of shinobi? Think about it, the purpose of being on a team it using _teamwork_." Kakashi said, putting emphasis on the last word.

"You all have your differences yes, but out of all of you, Naruto was the only one willing to put them aside for the better of the team. You two just blew him off thinking you didn't need him. Funny now seeing as he was the one who got the bells, huh?" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"So I guess that means Naruto here is the only one out of you three who has the makings of a real shinobi. Since you two failed to see that, I don't even think your fit for the academy." Kakashi finished.

"You can't do that!" Sasuke shouted in outrage as he charged, his frustration finally getting the best of him. Kakashi just spared him a glance before he grabbed the Uchiha's arm and twisted it behind his back and forced Sasuke to his knees.

"In case you forgot, I am an experience jounin and you are someone who failed their genin test." Kakashi said in a hard tone.

"Let go of him! You can't do that to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted.

"And once again you are missing the fact that Sasuke just attacked a Konoha shinobi for no apparent reason. You're not really helping your case." Kakashi said before Naruto stood up and began walking away.

"Where are you going Naruto?" Kakashi asked confused.

"Let those two have the bells and I'll go back to the academy." Naruto answered, not even looking back at them. The three of them blinked.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked surprised.

"It's fine." Naruto answered.

'_Besides, this means I won't have to deal with those two.' _He added as an afterthought. After a few minutes of walking he heard someone land next to him. Sparing a glance, he saw it was Kakashi who was by his side and he had his head buried in an orange book.

"Is there something you need from me Hatake-san?" Naruto asked uninterestingly.

"I just thought I would tell you that I passed your team." Kakashi answered. not even looking up from his book.

"Really? How did that happen? In case you forgot I don't have a bell." Naruto pointed out. On one hand he was kind of glad he was able to become a shinobi, but on the other he did not want to be teamed with Sakura and Sasuke.

"After you left, I gave them one more chance to see if they were capable of being a team. I ordered Sasuke to not give any food to Sakura while I left for a meeting. Truth was, I stayed hidden to keep an eye on them and Sasuke disobeyed my orders to give Sakura some food." Kakashi explained.

"So in the end he actually helped his teammate huh? I didn't think he would do that." Naruto said.

"Yes I already told them this so it's only fair I tell you too. Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash." Kakashi said looking away from his book to look at Naruto to show how serious those words were to him.

"Wise words." Naruto nodded.

'_But they don't really apply to me. There isn't a single person in this village who I consider a comrade.' _He added in thought.

"Well I just came to tell you the good news. Meet me back at the same training grounds tomorrow for our first official meeting as team 7." Kakashi said before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

**Hokage Tower**

"Alright, as of right now the only team of genin to pass are teams 8 and 10. Now we must wait for Kakashi to see if he passed his team." Hiruzen said.

"Why bother? He never passes a team." Asuma said getting a few nods of agreement from the present jounin gathered. As if on cue, Kakashi walked into the room with a bored look.

"Yo." He greeted as he offered a lazy wave.

"You're late…again." The Hokage deadpanned.

"Sorry but on my way here I saw a couple of birds moving into a birdhouse so I thought I would help them with their luggage." Kakashi answered with an eye smile as the others sweat dropped.

"I see…so how did you're team do Kakashi?" The elderly Hokage asked.

"They passed." Kakashi answered as the room fell silent. Kakashi looked around and noticed everyone looking at him in disbelief.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Kakashi asked.

"You passed a team?" Kurenai asked incredulously.

"Yes." Kakashi answered wondering what the big deal was.

"But you never pass a team." Asuma pointed out.

"Oh come on. I'm not that bad." Kakashi said looking a little hurt. It only increased when he saw everyone throw him a look that said 'Yes, yes you are.'

"Why don't you tell us what happened."

"I guess I'll start with Haruno Sakura. To sum it up she was a major disappointment." Kakashi said causing the others to look at him with raised brows.

"Care to elaborate?" Hiruzen asked.

"She only cared about Sasuke and thought he would save her. Basically, she's living in a fairy tale world where she's the damsel in distress and Sasuke is her knight in shining armor. She fainted after getting caught in a basic genjutsu." Kakashi explained causing the others to frown at the pink haired girl's behavior.

"Then we have the rookie of the year, Uchiha Sasuke. Although he is a very skilled genin, his attitude will only cause problems. He believes he could do anything because he is simply an Uchiha." Kakashi continued.

"I see, I was afraid of that. It seems that the civilians constant spoiling has let his arrogance grow to such a high level." Hiruzen said with a sigh before looking back at Kakashi. "And what of Naruto-kun?"

"Naruto was actually a surprise. Despite being the dead last, he showed the most potential and his skills are very impressive." Kakashi said before explaining Naruto's strengths and skills. Needless to say, the room was shocked to hear that the apparent dead last was able to do such things. But there was one thing that bothered the Hokage.

"Did you say he could use chakra chains?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, at first I found it hard to believe but after studying the chains a bit, they were the same as Uzumaki Kushina's. It seems like Naruto is able to use a skill passed down from his mother." Kakashi answered as the room fell silent.

'_If he could use Chakra Chains then why hasn't he ever mentioned it to me?' _the elderly Hokage thought with a frown.

"Very well, it seems this year's passing genin are teams 7, 8 and 10. You are all dismissed." He said as the jounin left the room leaving Hiruzen alone to think.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**Naruto skill list**

**Chakra Chains**

**Haki- able to use it subconsciously but is not aware of what it actually is**

**Shadow Clone- knows how to do it but has not had time to master the technique**

**Expert at stealth and setting pranks/traps**

**Now to answer some questions. Naruto is not going to be some cold emotionless person. He will be indifferent to practically all of Konoha. He doesn't hate them but he doesn't hold any particular love for them either. He is able to show emotions to them but he chooses not to because he thinks Konoha is no longer worth the effort. He will show emotions to those he trusts and cares for.**

**Is this a Naruto revenge fic? As of right now, no. Like I said earlier he just doesn't care, he thinks they are not worth the effort. But that does not mean that he won't want revenge later on in the fic, I have not decided yet.**

**Why is he a shinobi if he doesn't care about Konoha? What else is he going to do? Just sit by in the village and take the abuse? This way he can get in some training and get stronger.**

**Anyway thanks for reading hope you review but if you're thinking about flaming then don't waste your time because I'll just ignore it.**

**Also sorry if this you expected more from this chapter. To be honest, I kind of rushed through it so I could get the team selection and bell test over with.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other anime reference that appears**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Damn it Uchiha, why can't you just leave me alone?!" Naruto asked pissed beyond belief as he blocked a punch from Sasuke before throwing the Uchiha over his shoulder.

"Fight me seriously dobe!" Sasuke roared as he got back to his feet rushing towards him. Sighing in annoyance, Naruto leapt into the air to doge another attack from Sasuke. Landing behind him he performed a sweep kick that caused Sasuke to fall on his back before he rolled away as Naruto's foot stomped the ground he was previously on.

Glaring, Sasuke threw a handful of shuriken, but Naruto countered by creating a chakra chain blocking them before they could hit. Cursing, Sasuke went through a series of hand seals as he took a deep breath.

"_**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**_" he yelled as he released a large fireball. Rolling his eyes, Naruto took out a kunai and attached an exploding tag to it before throwing it at the fireball. Once it was close enough, the tag detonated creating an explosion that snuffed out Sasuke's fireball.

"Come on Uchiha, this was supposed to be a simple spar. Don't you think you're taking it a bit too far?" Naruto asked in a bored tone which only served to anger the Uchiha more.

"Damn it! You were the dead last! The most pathetic one in our class, how did you get so good all of a sudden?!" Sasuke asked enraged. He could not believe that he and Naruto were more than less even when it came to fighting. Sasuke with his fire jutsu and his fighting style, while Naruto had his chakra chains and while he didn't have an actual fighting style he was very adaptive, resourceful and creative. He didn't even know someone could create chakra chains and whenever anyone asked Naruto he would just tell them to mind their own business.

"When it comes to book smarts, then yeah I'll admit that I'm pretty bad. But when it comes to battle and survival instincts, well as you can see I have that in spades." Naruto answered.

"Alright then that's enough. Naruto was right; this was supposed to be a spar. Take a moment to rest and then we'll head over to get a mission." Kakashi said from the side where he watched his students.

"Oh joy, are we going to look for that damned cat again Hatake-san?" Naruto asked rolling his eyes just thinking about catching the infamous Tora.

"Who knows what mission we'll get assigned to Naruto, and shouldn't you be calling me Kakashi-sensei." The jounin asked with an eye smile.

"I don't feel close enough to you yet to address you on a first name basis. As for the sensei part, you haven't really taught us anything yet." Naruto explained.

"What do you mean? I've been teaching you how to work as a team for the past few weeks." Kakashi pointed out.

"No, you've been talking about teamwork to a team that refuses to even consider it." Naruto pointed out causing Kakashi to sigh. It was true no matter how much he wanted to deny it. Naruto was the only one who was willing to work as a team, but he was losing patience with his teammates' attitudes. Sasuke refused to work with anyone thinking that being an Uchiha made him invincible and Sakura agreed with whatever Sasuke said.

"Alright, let's just get a mission." Kakashi said a sudden feeling of tiredness washing over him.

"You were just amazing out there Sasuke-kun." Sakura praised as the three genin followed their sensei.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted not even sparing her a glance. He remembered when he used to mop the floor with Naruto during their early academy days, but all of a sudden, the dead last was able to fight him on even grounds.

"If only Kakashi-sensei didn't stop the fight. You would have beaten the baka easily." Sakura continued causing Naruto to grow a tick mark. Now a days there was only a few things that could anger him and being underestimated was one of them.

"What the hell are you smoking Haruno? Are you blind or something? The fight was more or less even and that's only because his royal Uchiha-ness realized that underestimating me resulted in getting his ass kicked." Naruto said in a dry tone.

"What did you say?" Sakura shouted glaring Naruto who gladly returned.

"Either watch the volume or keep your mouth shut." Naruto growled.

"Settle down everyone." Kakashi sighed as they reached the Hokage's house. Finally reaching their destination, they walked into the room where they saw the Hokage and a few other shinobi going through different requests. Hearing the door open, Hiruzen looked up and smiled when he saw who entered.

"Ah Team 7, how nice to see you." He said as they approached them.

"Hello Hokage-sama, we've done our training for the day and were wondering if you had any missions for us.

"Of course, let's see what we have available." Hiruzen said as he began to rummage through the papers in front of him. "Oh here we are. You can choose from painting a fence, babysitting, help picking vegetables, help picking up litter-"

"Enough of this! We are shinobi! Give us a real mission not some menial chores." Sasuke demanded his frustration getting the better of him.

"I think he's right Hokage-sama, I think we're more than qualified for a higher ranking mission." Sakura added in a polite tone.

'_With Sasuke-kun we can handle anything! Shannaro!' _Inner Sakura ranted in her mind.

'_Uh, be quiet and be grateful for what you can.' _Kakashi thought tiredly.

'_What's with them? I mean yeah, some of these jobs are stupid but in the end its easy money. Then again, those two have never really had to worry about money before.' _Naruto thought, the attitude of his teammates starting to really get on his nerves.

"Don't act like fools! You're genin rookies! Everyone has to start at the bottom!" Iruka shouted showing his displeasure at their disrespect to their village leader.

"We've been at the bottom for weeks. How are we supposed to excel if we aren't given the chance?" Sasuke responded. Hiruzen was silent as he looked at the genin before him before sighing tiredly.

"Kakashi, do you feel that your team is qualified for a C-rank mission?" the elderly man asked, getting a surprised look from the rest while Kakashi studied his team.

'_Their teamwork is practically non-existent, but maybe this will open their eyes a little to the real world…plus if I say no they would annoy me to no end.' _The silver haired jounin thought before addressing the Hokage.

"I think they should be able to handle it." He said, causing Sasuke to smirk, Sakura to grin, and Naruto…was looking out the window uninterestedly.

"Very well, you're mission is fairly simple. You will be escorting this man to his village and protect him from any bandits that may be around." Hiruzen explained as the door opened.

"What's this? You expect a bunch of brats to protect me?" an old man asked in a slurred voice as he took a swig of sake from the bottle in his hand. "They don't look like much."

"If you prefer, we could just deny the request and you can walk back home on your own." Naruto offered causing the old man to fall silent.

"Yes, well this is Tazuna. You will be bringing him to the Land of Waves." Hiruzen said.

"I happen to be a very important bridge builder so make sure you protect me even if it means giving up your life."

"Please, like your life is worth the life of an Uchiha." Sasuke scoffed.

"No one gives a rat's ass if you're an Uchiha. You have a job so just do it." Naruto said as he left the room to gather his things leaving behind an angry Sasuke and a glaring Sakura.

"Ha! I might have been wrong about you kid, I'm starting to like you." Tazuna laughed as he followed the blonde out the room.

"Naruto meet us by the gates in one hour." Kakashi said, earning a wave of acknowledgement from Naruto.

* * *

**Village Gates**

"Hatake-san you're early?" Naruto asked surprised when he saw that he was the last one in his group to arrive at the gates.

"You make it sound like I'm always late Naruto." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"That's because you are." Naruto deadpanned.

"So let's get the show on the road. Let's move out." Kakashi said acting like he hadn't heard Naruto.

As they were walking Naruto took a deep breath from his spot at the rear before adopting a peaceful expression. While he didn't show it he was actually excited. Not about the mission, although he was happy about getting a higher ranked mission, but the fact that he left the village. This would be the first time he ever took a step out of Konoha and he was looking forward to it. He knew he had a job to do but he also thought about this as a vacation away from his village. It was chance to explore the outside world a bit and perhaps meet some people who don't know about the Kyuubi.

As he was walking he thought about the people around him. Just like he thought Sasuke was as arrogant as always and Sakura followed his words to the letter. Kakashi though, was a pleasant surprise. He never looked at him with his eyes full of hate, instead he treated him just like he did the rest of his teammates. But even still he did not feel close enough to the man to address him in a familiar way. He did not want to be lied to anymore so he became wary of who to trust.

Pushing those thoughts away he looked at the sky as a small smile grew on his face.

'_This will be my first taste of freedom, a chance to see what life would be like outside of Konoha.' _He thought to himself. But pretty soon the peaceful quiet was interrupted by Sakura.

"Excuse me Tazuna-san?" she asked gaining everyone's attention.

"What is it?" came the gruff reply from the bridge builder.

"You're from the Land of Waves right?" she asked.

"Yeah so?" he asked.

"Are there any shinobi there Kakashi-sensei?" she asked turning towards her sensei.

"No there aren't any there. Ninja villages, like Konoha, represent an aspect of military might. All Daimyo's have a standing army, mostly composed of Samurai. It's a requirement for being a Daimyo since like any leader you can't be a leader without some way of enforcing your less popular laws. A ninja village, on the other hand, is more like the 'special forces' of a country's military forces. A ninja village requires considerable backing in order to remain hidden, and that's not even considering the sort of capitol that it takes to fund to the start up of a ninja village. So, only the larger, stronger, and wealthier countries can start and maintain a ninja force. The land of Waves doesn't qualify." Kakashi explained as they passed a puddle, something that only Kakashi noticed.

"So other than a few bandits we shouldn't have to worry about any enemy shinobi." Kakashi finished.

"That's a relief." Sakura said relieved. Once they were a few feet away two masked figures emerged from the puddle.

Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened when he felt his instincts go wild and images struck his head. In his mind he saw an image of himself getting sliced by a bladed chain. Reacting on instincts he quickly ducked as two figures passed right above him, the same chain he saw in his mind passing right by him before they weaved around until their chain was wrapped around Kakashi. With a simple pull the chains dug into Kakashi's flesh cutting him to ribbons.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out eyes wide in fear. Naruto cursed looking towards the offenders only to find them gone. He scanned the area before another image assaulted his mind, an image of a pair of clawed gauntlets attacking him from behind. Naruto leapt into the air as the sound of metal clashing filled the air. Landing back on his feet he saw the two masked shinobi wore a Kirigakure forehead protector.

'_Mist? What are they doing here?' _he thought before he heard one of the masked men spoke.

"It seems like we have a slippery one here huh brother?" he asked as the other spoke.

"Then we should skip the fun and get our target." He said before they charged at a frightened Tazuna. Before they could get him Sasuke charged and landed a kick right on one of the brothers faces but unfortunately he left himself open.

"Time do die!" the other masked man aiming his gauntlet at the Uchiha. But the hit never came as Naruto shot a chakra chain that wrapped around Sasuke's leg before pulling back as the gauntlet sailed right past him.

Seeing this Sasuke pulled out a kunai and a shuriken before launching it at the chain that connected the two brothers, pinning them to a tree. Naruto released his hold on Sasuke before wrapping the chain around his knuckles making makeshift brass knuckles. Cocking his fist back he charged at one of the brothers.

"_**Iron Knuckle**_" he said as his fist connected with his opponents jaw. Sasuke, not one to be outdone, attacked the other one with a hard heel kick aimed at his opponents face sending him crashing head first into a nearby tree.

"Well now, that was pretty good." A voice from above praised. They looked towards the voice to see Kakashi jump of the branch he was on. Blinking in confusion the genin looked at what used to be the remains of Kakashi only to see a cut up log.

"Kakashi-sensei, what happened? I thought they got you." Sakura asked pointing out the obvious.

"Not really, I used a substitution and then I stayed back so I could observe how far you've gotten. Both Naruto and Sasuke did very well and Naruto good job looking out for your teammate." Kakashi said with his usual eye smile.

"Hn. I didn't need the dobe's help." Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah! Sasuke-kun could have taken them down by himself." Sakura added the surprise of her sensei's survival gone in an instant.

'_Tch. I knew I should have let the hit get hit.' _Naruto thought.

Kakashi sighed at his genin's behavior before turning towards Tazuna who was sweating nervously.

"If I heard correctly…those two said you were their target. Would you mind telling us why the Demon Brothers, a well known pair of chunin, were after you?" he asked staring at the bridge builder seriously. Tazuna fidgeted under his stare before sighing in defeat.

"Gato, it was him who sent these shinobi. He wants me dead before I can finish the bridge." Tazuna said causing Kakashi to raise a brow.

"Gato? As in Gato of Gato Corporation?" Kakashi asked carefully while Sakura just looked confused.

"Wait, why would anyone want to kill you for building a bridge?"

"Because, he's trying to stop us from getting any kind of hope." He said gravely. "About a year ago, a businessman named Gato came to Wave and started buying companies. Once he owned most of them, he started using strong-arm tactics to drive everyone else out of business. Pretty soon, Gato owned just about everything. He's been crushing us into nothing ever since. Nobody knows what he's doing."

"But…with the completion of my bridge it could all change. With it we could connect to the mainland and a new hope." He finished a look of determination in his eyes.

"So this Gato person is sucking Wave of its funds?" Sakura asked.

"And because of that he had to lie about the mission rank because he couldn't afford the price for the actual rank." Kakashi concluded before thinking about what they should do.

"Yeas, I apologize for lying but you have to understand. Thanks to Gato we only have enough money for the supplies needed to complete the bridge." Tazuna explained.

"That may be but you still lied about the rank. Because of that you have an underpowered team for the task. I'm afraid we'll have to go back to Konoha." Kakashi sighed causing Tazuna's shoulders to slump in defeat before turning around.

"It's alright, I understand. I'll just have to continue on my own. Hopefully I'll be able to make it their in one piece. I'd hate for my daughter to cry her heart out if her dear father died and as for my beloved grandson…hopefully he won't hold a grudge against Konoha for leaving me on my own. You guys go and do what you have to do. Who knows maybe I'll see you around some day…maybe." He said as he began walking away from the Konoha shinobi.

Kakashi flinched slightly with each word and looked uncomfortable. It only increased when he saw his genin looking at him expectantly.

"I say we go. I refuse to let my first c-rank mission end in a failure." Sasuke said.

"I agree with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura added.

Naruto was smirking the whole time looking at Tazuna with amusement.

'_He really knows how to play the guilt card.'_ He thought before he began to follow the bridge builder.

"Where are you going Naruto?" Kakashi asked since he hadn't made a decision yet.

"I plan on going no matter what decision is made Hatake-san." Naruto informed. Kakashi just sighed before he began following them as well.

'_Become a sensei they said. You'll be a great sensei. I knew I should have turned down the offer to teach a genin squad.' _Kakashi thought feeling a headache coming. None of the shinobi noticed Tazuna's smug grin.

Eventually they took a ferry so they could cross the sea the separated Wave from the mainland. Once they reached the docks the ferryman said his goodbyes before leaving as quickly as possible.

"Alright now that we're here all that's left is getting to my home." Tazuna announced.

'_Chances are Gato's next attack will be happening soon…and they'll be sending in someone much stronger.' _Kakashi thought to himself.

AS they were walking Naruto heard a rustling sound. Not wanting to take a chance he quickly pulled out a kunai and launched it at the direction of the sound startling the others around him.

"What was that for you baka! Don't scare us like that!" Sakura shouted.

"I definitely heard something over there." Naruto said as Kakashi walked over to inspect. Moving the bushes away he saw that a rabbit was passed out in shock as the kunai was lodged into the tree about an inch away from the rabbits head. Seeing this Sakura continued to berate Naruto.

"See that?! A rabbit! It was a harmless rabbit!" she shouted as Naruto looked back and forth from the rabbit to Sakura.

"Oh…my bad." He said blankly.

"That's all you have to say for yourself!" Sakura shouted enraged.

'_It was a harmless mistake. Why is she being so dramatic?' _Naruto thought to himself while Kakashi appeared to be in deep thought.

"A snow rabbit? It's fur is the wrong color for this time of year." The masked jounin muttered. Naruto was about to asked what he meant when an image flashed into his mind. It was an image of himself being cut in half by a large sword that resembled a butcher's knife. Like always Naruto acted on instincts.

"DUCK!" he shouted at the same time as Kakashi though Kakashi looked a little surprised that Naruto knew to duck as well. The others, obviously startled at the sudden order, did what they were told just in the nick of time as a large sword sore through the air its line of path would have cut their heads clean of their shoulders. The sword kept going until it started to rise higher into the air until it was embedded into a tree.

"K-Kakashi-sensei…what was that?" a shaken Sakura asked as they got back on their feet.

"It seems like we have a guest." Kakashi said as he gazed at the sword only to find someone standing on the flat end of the sword. The man looked down at them before he began to laugh.

"Well what do we have here? I came to see what kept the Demon Brothers so long and I find none other than Sharingan no Kakashi. I don't suppose I could convince you to hand over the old man. If you do then I promise I'll let those little brats of yours run on home." The man taunted smirking underneath his bandaged mask.

'_Did he say Sharingan?' _Sasuke thought in shock.

"Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist. While your offer sounds tempting I'm afraid I can't let you kill this man." Kakashi said casually but the look on his face was serious.

"I see, then I look forward to killing someone with a reputation such as yours." Zabuza said.

"Team 7, guard Tazuna do not let him out of your sight. We cannot let Zabuza get to him." Kakashi ordered as he reached for his forehead protector.

"What's this? Bringing out the legendary Sharingan out so soon? I feel so honored." Zabuza said as Kakashi moved his forehead protector reveal a red eye with three tomoe marks around the pupil.

"I don't plan on going easy on you Zabuza. Prepare yourself." Kakashi warned as he pulled out a kunai.

'_How on earth does he have the Sharingan?' _Sasuke asked himself in shock as the other two genin wondered what was up with his other eye.

"Um Hatake-san…do you have red eye or something?" Naruto asked causing the others, including Zabuza, to face fault.

"Red eye? Don't tell me the brat doesn't know what the Sharingan is." Zabuza said in slight disbelief.

"Dobe that's not a simple case of red eye. It's one of the 3 great dojutsu." Sasuke said.

'_A dojutsu that belongs to my clan.' _Sasuke continued in his mind.

"Oh…so it's some kind of super eye?" Naruto asked confused.

"I guess you could say that." Kakashi said getting into a fighting stance watching Zabuza intently.

"Alright enough talk, time to get started." Zabuza said pulling his sword out of the tree before disappearing.

"So fast, where did he go?" Sakura asked scanning the area.

"Over there." Sasuke said pointing at the water where they say Zabuza standing one arm raised while the other made a hand seal.

"Prepare yourself. _**Hidden Mist Technique.**_" He said as the fog around them began to spread and thicken. The three genin immediately took their positions in protecting Tazuna, Sasuke in the front while Naruto and Sakura flanked Tazuna, as their vision was blocked and the tension rose. The genin couldn't hear a thing other than their breathing as they tried to see through the most to no avail. Then they felt it. They were hit by a sudden wave of killer intent as the disembodied voice of Zabuza reached their ears.

"Eight targets. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart. Such a tough decision. Tell me…do you have a preference of how to die?" he asked as the genin began to tremble under the killer intent directed at them.

"Calm down. We are dealing with a master of the Art of Silent Killing. If you let your guard down against him then you will be killed before you even realize it." Kakashi said, eyes scanning the area. "Besides, I don't plan on letting you die anytime soon. I will protect you guys with everything I have."

Once he was done the genin visible relaxed though you could tell they were sill tense. They tense further when they heard Zabuza laughing.

"Those are some bold words Kakashi. Are you sure you can back them up." And just like those times before an image flashed into Naruto's mind. He saw himself and his team getting cleaved in half from Zabuza's sword. Biting back a curse Naruto grabbed Tazuna's wrist and pulled him away just as Zabuza appeared inside their defense. The two jounin were a bit surprised by this.

'_Looks like the gaki was able to feel my presence…not bad.' _Zabuza admitted.

'_This mist is too thick and Zabuza is a master at stealth. How did Naruto find him?' _Kakashi thought as he quickly rushed at Zabuza stabbing him with his kunai.

"Not bad but not good enough." Zabuza said as he turned into water.

'_It was just a water clone.' _Sasuke thought in a panic knowing that the original was still out there.

"Time to die Kakashi." Zabuza said from behind swing his sword cutting the silver hair in half. He smirked as blood flew in the air but the smirk turned into a frown when the blood turned into water.

'_He was able to copy my water clone even in this mist?' _Zabuza thought as he realized what happened.

"Game over Zabuza." A voice from behind said as a kunai was placed over the mist shinobi's throat. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that it was Kakashi.

"I didn't even see him make any hand seals." Naruto whispered to himself.

"Looks like its over." Sakura thought as she released a sigh of relief but they tensed when they heard a low chuckle coming from Zabuza.

"Do you honestly think I'd go down this easily? Please, it will take more than some simple monkey tricks to bring me down. But I'll give credit where credit is due, you are good. Copying my jutsu while you were comforting your genin and then switching places with it without being detected…you used my own mist against me." Zabuza praised before his eyes narrowed.

"It would fool a lot of people but not me." A voice from behind said, shocking them. Kakashi looked in time to see another Zabuza standing right behind him as the one in front of him turned into water.

'_He used another clone.' _Kakashi thought as he ducked to avoid a swipe of Zabuza's sword. Seeing this Zabuza countered with a hard kick with enough force to send Kakashi flying until he fell into the water. Quickly focusing his chakra into his feet Kakashi stood on the water and looked back at Zabuza only to find him missing.

"Bad luck that you landed on my playing field, eh Kakashi?" Zabuza said from behind as he went through a series of hand seals.

'_When did he get behind me?' _Kakashi thought as he made a move to get away but it was too late.

"_**Water Release: Water Prison Technique**__" _Zabuza said as the water around Kakashi began to surround him until he was trapped in a dome of water.

"You won't be able to escape from this." Zabuza said once his jutsu was completed. "Now that I have you where I want, I can take care of your little brats and the bridge builder. Once I finish them off your next."

"_**Water Release: Water Clone Technique**_" he said as the water in front of him turned into an exact copy of himself.

"Alright you little brats, it's time to see what happened when you face a true shinobi." The clone said looking at the three genin like a predator about to pounce at its prey.

"Everyone listen, get Tazuna and get away from here. He has to stay here if he wants to keep a hold of me in this prison. His clone can only go so far before dispelling. Get out of here." Kakashi shouted from his prison.

Naruto was silent as he watched the Zabuza clone warily. Should he listen to Kakashi and try to escape? Naruto clenched his fist as he thought about his times with Kakashi. While he didn't know a lot about the man, as he tended to avoid talking about his personal life, he held a certain respect for him. Whenever he looked at the masked jounin's eye he never saw hate or disgust. Kakashi never once mistreated him but instead he treated him like he did the rest of his team.

'_Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash' _

He didn't know why Kakashi's words floated in his mind but they applied nicely in this situation. While he didn't feel close enough to the man to call him a friend he was still a part of his team.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Hatake-san. When we first formed this team you told me that only those lower than trash abandon their comrade. As long as I wear this forehead protector then you are a comrade." Naruto said taking a step forward keeping a watchful eye on the clone.

"Now's not the time to play hero Naruto! Get out of here!" Kakashi shouted from his imprisonment.

"I already told you my decision. Besides, what's the point? Zabuza could just kill you and then come after us." Naruto pointed out.

'_My best bet is to find a way to separate him from the water prison and free Hatake so he can defeat Zabuza.' _Naruto rationalized.

"This kid has guts, I like him." The Zabuza clone said as Naruto raised his arm and shot out a chakra chain that was heading right at the clone at high speed.

"What's this?" The clone asked curiously as he titled his head avoiding the chain. But the chain kept going heading for the original.

"So you bypass the clone and aim for the original. Pretty smart gaki but it's not enough." The original Zabuza said as he grabbed the chain before it hit him. He then pulled it back, the strength pulling Naruto towards the clone as it prepared its sword to cut Naruto in two. Seeing this Naruto raised his other hand and shot it at a tree wrapping it around the trunk stopping him before he was within range from the sword as it crashed into the ground in front of him.

Naruto then raised his leg and surprised everyone as he shot another chain out of his foot as it wrapped around the clone's neck. Smirking Naruto made a hard sweeping motion with his leg pulling the chain with it causing it to tighten with enough force that crushed the clone's neck before it was reduced to a puddle of water.

"Oh ho ho, what's this? Looks like you have more skills then I though." Zabuza praised as he created another clone. "But you'll still have to do better than that." And with that the clone charged.

"Don't forget about me. _**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique**__." _Sasuke said launching a large fireball at the clone. The clone was about to dodge before it un-intently glance at Naruto.

"_**Temporary Paralysis Technique**_" Naruto said causing the clones body to freeze up before turning to water as the fireball dispelled it.

'_When did Naruto learn that?'_Kakashi thought as he observed his students feeling a touch of pride as they finally seemed to use teamwork but it seemed to be unintentional if the scowl of Sasuke was anything to go by.

'_The dobe knows another jutsu? Damn it, where did he learn it.' _Sasuke thought with narrowed eyes as he Naruto pulled out a shuriken and threw it.

"_**Shadow Shuriken Technique**_" Naruto said as the single shuriken multiplied into 20 that were heading right for Zabuza.

"You think that this will hit me?" Zabuza scoffed as he waved his sword and smashed it against the water he stood on creating a giant wave that washed the shuriken away. Once the wave was away he saw Naruto looking at him right the eye as he made the necessary hand seals.

"_**Temporary Paralysis Technique**_" he said and just like earlier with the clone Zabuza's body froze.

'_I won't be able to hold him for long so I better make this count.' _Naruto thought as swung both arms with four chains shooting out of his hands.

"_**Chakra Chains: Octopus Strike.**_" He said as the eight chains smashed into Zabuza right arm, shoulder and side the moment that he was freed from his temporary paralysis.

"Grah!" Zabuza grunted in pain as he was forced to pull his arm out of the water prison. Now that he no longer had any contact with the water prison it turned into normal water freeing Kakashi.

"Good job Naruto, go back to the others while I finish this." Kakashi said as he stared at Zabuza who was waving his arm a bit trying to wash the pain he felt, those chains could pack a punch.

"Got it." Naruto said as he walked back towards the others keeping one eye on the battle in front of him and the other on Tazuna.

"Dobe, where did you learn those jutsu?" Sasuke asked taking his spot.

"Now is not the time for your petty jealousy. In case you've forgotten we have a skilled jounin with a giant as sword trying to kill us." Naruto said not even sparing a glance at the Uchiha. Sasuke glared at him a bit before grunting in annoyance as he looked back at the fight in front of him.

"Your kid isn't half bad Kakashi. But I won't be falling for that again so once I finish you off I'll get back at him." Zabuza said.

"You talk like you'll be able to defeat me. I won't fall for the same trick twice." Kakashi said.

"Whatever, it's about time for you all to die." Zabuza said as he went through a series of hand seals, an action that Kakashi copied.

"_**Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique**_" they both said as the water around them began to rise into the air until it turned into the shape of a dragon. With a ferocious roar the two dragons charged at each other as the water rained down on the genin and Tazuna. As the dragons charged Kakashi pulled out a kunai while Zabuza wielded his giant blade. The two charged at each other sparks flying and the sound of metal clashing filled the air.

From his spot Naruto couldn't help but watch the fight with wide eyes. He's never seen a fight like this before.

'_The speed of the hand seals…the strength of their jutsu…the speed and strength they fight with…I knew it took a lot to be jounin but this is…' _he thought as he watched Kakashi block Zabuza's sword strike before punching the missing-nin in the face who countered by kicking him in the chest sending them flying away from each other. Naruto clenched his fist and a determined look crossed his face.

'_One day I will reach this level and then I will surpass it.' _He thought to himself.

During his fight Zabuza began to notice something. He began to go through another set of hand seals and noticed that Kakashi was doing the same.

'_He's using that damned eye of his to copy my movements.' _He thought bitterly. _'In the end it won't matter just copying me-'_

"Won't be enough to defeat me." Kakashi said surprising Zabuza.

'_What? Don't tell me-'_

"That he read my mind." Kakashi stated as he picked up the speed on his hand seals after noticing Zabuza's slight pause.

"You're mind tricks won't work on me!" Zabuza said as he went back to his hand seals but stopped completely when he saw a human figure form next to Kakashi.

"What the hell?" he said to himself when he the figure form into himself.

"_**Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique**_" Kakashi finished as the water surged around him before charging at Zabuza who grunted in pain as it crashed into him. The water kept pushing him away until he crashed into a tree. Gasping for air Zabuza barely blinked before his arms and legs were stabbed by kunai. Looking around he saw Kakashi on the branch on the tree he crashed into pinning a kunai around his finger.

"It looks like it's the end of the line for you demon." Kakashi said. Zabuza was about to speak but his words died in his throat and his vision blackened as he fell to the ground.

"What happened?" Naruto asked confused until his noticed two needles lodged into the missing-nin's neck. Looking around he raised an eyebrow when he saw a masked boy who looked about his age standing on the tree branch.

"Thank you for helping me deal with him. I have been after him for some time but he proved to be a difficult target." The masked boy said his voice soft and gentle. Kakashi nodded before walking towards Zabuza's fallen form before checking his pulse. Not feeling anything he stood up and turned towards the masked boy.

"You mask…If I had to guess I would say you are a hunter-nin from Kiri." Kakashi said.

"You would be correct." The masked shinobi said before jumping towards Zabuza. He picked up the corpse and turned to the Konoha group. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must dispose of the body."

Kakashi covered his sharingan as the boy vanished in a swirl of mist as a few nearby leaves scattered in the air.

"Well now that that's over with we can be on our way." Kakashi said with an eye smile. He took one step forward before crashing towards the ground face first.

"You trip or something Hatake-san?" Naruto asked he walked over towards the silver haired jounin.

"Ugh, that battle took a lot out of me. My body is too worn out." Kakashi groaned.

'_Guess I'm not used to using the sharingan for prolonged periods of time.' _He thought to himself tiredly.

"Come on. You can rest once we get to my house." Tazuna said as he helped Naruto pick the man up before dragging him away.

* * *

**Tazuna's house**

"Tsunami I'm home!" the bridge builder shouted as he opened the door to his house. The heard the shuffling of feet before a young woman appeared before them.

"Father you're home!" she said with a large smile as she embraced the elderly man who happily returned the hug. Tsunami looked over her father's shoulder and saw the shinobi just standing there.

"Who are our guests?" she asked releasing her father and looking at the group curiously.

"These are the shinobi from Konoha that I hired to protect me." Tazuna explained as bowed to them in greeting.

"Thank you for keeping my father safe." She thanked with a smile.

"No problem but can we come in. Not to be rude or anything but he's a lot heavier then he looks." Naruto said as he gestured to the still tired Kakashi who was leaning on him.

"Now why would you say something like that? That really hurt my feelings." Kakashi said in a weary tone.

"Oh of course, please come in." she said as she let the group enter the home where Naruto proceeded to dump Kakashi on the couch.

"Thanks for that." Kakashi said dryly.

"Don't mention in Hatake-san." Naruto said with a shrug as he found a chair to sit on.

"I wasn't expecting any guest so if you'll excuse me I'll have to prepare extra for dinner." Tsunami said as she left the room.

"And I think I'll go look for my grandson." Tazuna said as he left the room. Once gone the exhaustion left Kakashi's face as he looked at his genin.

"I've been thinking about it for a while but there is very high chance that Zabuza is still alive." He said seriously.

"What? But we barely beat him?" Sakura shouted eyes wide in panic.

"We? Please all you did was stand there." Naruto scoffed causing Sakura to glare at him. She was about to say something but a look from Kakashi kept her silent.

"I have reason to believe that the hunter-nin is actually an accomplice of Zabuza's." Kakashi explained.

"What makes you say that?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow.

"When a hunter-nin captures a missing-nin they are supposed to dispose of the body right away." Kakashi answered.

"So? Maybe he just took him away so no one else had to watch him when he did it." Sakura said hoping that she was right. She did not want to face Zabuza again.

"Did you notice what the hunter-nin used to finish off Zabuza?" Kakashi asked.

"Those needle things." Naruto answered causing the jounin to nod.

"Yes but their called senbon. If used properly that hunter-nin could have used them to put Zabuza in a death like trance so we would think he was dead while he took him away so he could recover." Kakashi explained. The room was silent as the genin absorbed this.

"So we'll be fighting him again?" Naruto guessed.

"Yes, only this time he'll bring a friend." Kakashi said. "If the hunter-nin is really an ally of his he'll be joining in the fight next time we face Zabuza."

"T-Then what are we going to do? You're bedridden and we're just genin. There's no way we can take on a jounin." Sakura said but Kakashi shook his head.

"I should be up and running in a week's time. Based on the injuries that Zabuza suffered he should be the same as well. In the mean time I think it's about time we up your training a bit." He said getting a surprised look from his genin.

"Training? You mean you expect us to fight someone like Zabuza?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Have a little more faith Sakura. By the time your training is done you should be able to hold your own." Kakashi said with an eye smile before turning towards Naruto. "By the way Naruto, where did you learn those jutsu?"

"I figured adding more to my arsenal of jutsu would help up. My chakra chains are pretty strong when used right but it never hurts to have a backup plan. I went to the library to pick up a few scrolls. I only learned a few d-rank jutsu though." Naruto explained leaving out the part where he had to use a henge to go to the library to get the scrolls.

"Decided to take things into your own hands huh? Pretty good. If you have free time then you may as well spend it improving yourself." Kakashi said nodding in approval.

"Well now I guess we should get a start on the training after all we have a dangerous bloodthirsty shinobi to deal with." Kakashi said with an eye smile causing the genin to sweat drop at his casual tone.

* * *

**End of chapter**

**To some that are questioning Naruto's fighting style. He can basically use his chakra chains as whips but their main strength right now is capturing and detaining opponents so I gave him a few d-rank jutsu. Temporary Paralysis to freeze his opponents so he can capture them and Shadow Shuriken to add some offensive abilities. **

**Also for those who are wondering about Kyuubi don't worry, she will appear in the next chapter or the one after that.**


End file.
